World RX - Stars set to vie for victory on series' Stateside debut

The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy will break new ground this weekend (29/30 September), with Texas’ Circuit of The Americas set to play host to the first-ever World RX of USA.

Inaugurated in 2012, COTA – located on the outskirts of Austin – has rapidly established a reputation as one of international motorsport’s most pioneering and popular venues, but American fans have never had the opportunity to watch the World RX superstars in action at close quarters. Until now.

Fifteen permanent competitors will take to the track, going doorhandle-to-doorhandle around the new permanent rallycross circuit that incorporates part of COTA’s Formula 1 layout. The field is headed by defending World Champion Johan Kristoffersson, who will clinch his second consecutive Drivers’ crown this weekend should he score 17 points or more.

In World RX, however, nothing can ever be taken for granted, with myriad twists, turns and unexpected dramas all part-and-parcel of what is renowned as one of the world’s most thrilling championships.

Whilst PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s Kristoffersson has unquestionably been the class of the field this year, his rivals – a number of them World Champions in other high-profile series – are redoubling their efforts to halt his charge.

Just six points blanket second to fifth in the classification after nine of the 12 rounds, and the drivers filling those spots – Mattias Ekstrom, Sebastien Loeb, Andreas Bakkerud and Petter Solberg – are some of the biggest names in international motorsport.

EKS Audi Sport’s Ekstrom and Team Peugeot Total ace Loeb arrive in the USA buoyed by top three finishes last time out in Latvia, and both have title-winning pedigree in other high-profile series. Ekstrom has made the final in every round bar one this season – meaning the Swede is always a threat – while Loeb has tallied six podiums from nine starts this year, a statistic beaten only by Kristoffersson.

Norwegians Bakkerud (EKS Audi Sport) and Solberg (PSRX Volkswagen Sweden) are guaranteed crowd-pleasers, with their swashbuckling style, big personalities and famous rivalry invariably amongst the highlights of World RX events. Both are more than capable of winning – with 16 prior victories between them – and both will be fired-up to break their 2018 duck and etch their name in history as the very first winner of World RX of USA.

Timmy Hansen sits sixth in the sister Team Peugeot Total 208 WRX, but a strong result at COTA would vault the Swede firmly into the thick of the second-place scrap, which is set to run right to the end of the campaign.

Beyond the top six in the standings, Niclas Gronholm has been quietly impressive behind the wheel of GRX Taneco Team’s Hyundai i20, currently leading the non-manufacturer battle in seventh position overall. The young Finn has reached the final on three occasions already this season, and came within barely half-a-second of mounting the podium in Riga – motivation to go at least one spot better in the ‘Lone Star State’.

Kevin Hansen in a third Peugeot 208 WRX is next up, the young Swede rivalling his more experienced team-mates on occasion as he continues to prove himself on the World Championship stage, while former Euro RX Supercar Champion Timur Timerzyanov in the second Hyundai can never be ruled out of springing a surprise.

GC Kompetition will field owner/driver Guerlain Chicherit, as 2017 Euro RX Supercar Champion Anton Marklund rejoins the World Championship fray in the sister Renault Megane RS RX, more than three months on from his last appearance. The Swede narrowly pipped Cyril Raymond to the runner-up laurels in the 2018 Euro RX tussle in Latvia, and will be keen to stake his claim to a full-time return to the highest level.

Swedish duo Robin Larsson and Kevin Eriksson are eager to bounce back from a disappointing outing in Riga in Olsbergs MSE’s brace of Ford Fiestas, while Team STARD’s Janis Baumanis and Gregoire Demoustier (Sebastien Loeb Racing) complete the entries.

Petter Solberg, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden, said: “I was out at COTA for the launch earlier this year and the track looked really good. It’s going to be a fast one, which is what us drivers really like and it looked like a real challenge with some interesting corners – hopefully some good places to overtake. There’s always something special about a new track and a new venue, but being the first time for the championship and the team to compete in America will be a great experience. As well as the track layout, I think we should be in for a good atmosphere with the fans as well – it’s nice to be there to introduce America to World Rallycross.”

World RX Managing Director for IMG, Paul Bellamy, commented: “There is tremendous anticipation ahead of World RX’s first visit to the US, and fans and competitors alike are in for a real treat this weekend, both on and off-track. COTA is a spectacular venue and rallycross a spectacular discipline, and together they will make for a spectacular show. America is a big motorsport-loving nation, and we are looking forward to introducing spectators to our wonderful series – we are sure they will very quickly be hooked.”

From a Cooper Tires point of viewPaul Coates, General Manager – Motorsport, Cooper Tire Europe, said: “This new rallycross circuit, which has been built between Turns 12 and 16 of the famous Circuit of The Americas racetrack, has already seen action on Cooper rallycross tyres this year in the Americas Rallycross Championship. At half-a-mile long, it might be the shortest track that World Rallycross visits this season, but the tight bends and jump mean it is still a challenging venue. One of the biggest challenges for the tyres can be the heat. Even in September, we can see ambient temperatures of 35 degrees in Texas which can easily mean track temperatures in the mid-40s, and with this championship only having a single compound option for the dry tyre and one for the wet, designing a tyre that can work equally well be it four degrees or 40 degrees is testament to our years of experience in motorsport.”

World RX of USA // Circuit of The Americas - Entry List Supercars

1

Johan Kristoffersson

SWE

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden

Volkswagen Polo R

4

Robin Larsson

SWE

Olsbergs MSE

Ford Fiesta

5

Mattias Ekstrom

SWE

EKS Audi Sport

Audi S1

6

Janis Baumanis

LVA

Team Stard

Ford Fiesta

7

Timur Timerzyanov

RUS

GRX Taneco Team

Hyundai i20

9

Sebastien Loeb

FRA

Team Peugeot Total

Peugeot 208

11

Petter Solberg

NOR

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden

Volkswagen Polo R

13

Andreas Bakkerud

NOR

EKS Audi Sport

Audi S1

21

Timmy Hansen

SWE

Team Peugeot Total

Peugeot 208

36

Guerlain Chicherit

FRA

GC Kompetition

Renault Megane RS

66

Gregoire Demoustier

BEL

Sebastien Loeb Racing

Peugeot 208

68

Niclas Gronholm

FIN

GRX Taneco Team

Hyundai i20

71

Kevin Hansen

SWE

Team Peugeot Total

Peugeot 208

92

Anton Marklund

SWE

GC Kompetition

Renault Megane RS

96

Kevin Eriksson

SWE

Olsbergs MSE

Ford Fiesta

Americas Rallycross Championship (ARX)The inaugural Americas Rallycross Championship will reach its conclusion in Austin this weekend, with effectively a straight duel for the crown between Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross pair Scott Speed and Tanner Foust, the former holding a nine-point lead and coming off the back of consecutive wins at COTA 1 and Trois-Rivieres. Third-placed Patrik Sandell (Subaru Rally Team USA) is mathematically still in title contention, but will require some serious misfortune to befall his two rivals if he is to triumph. The entry list is completed by Sandell’s team-mates Chris Atkinson and Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen, Ken Block and Steve Arpin for Loenbro Motorsports, Liam Doran in a GC Kompetition-run Renault Megane RS RX and countryman Oliver Bennett in his BMW MINI Cooper.

ARX2Like in ARX, there is a two-way tussle for glory in ARX2, where all drivers compete in identical Supercar Lites machinery. Conner Martell is unbeaten so far this season for Dirtfish, but the similarly consistent Christian Brooks (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) remains well in touch just seven points in arrears – setting up a tantalising finale. The ten-strong entry additionally includes fellow Americans Alex Keyes, James Rimmer, Scott Anderson and Cole Keatts as well as Jamaican ace Fraser McConnell.